


Way Down We Go

by dystopianparker



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Major Illness, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Superpowers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:34:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25083976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dystopianparker/pseuds/dystopianparker
Summary: It is a couple months after the snap and everyone is trying to move on. Peter gets paired up with Y/N on a school project, and wants to be friends. But while out in patrol one night he stops a robbery only to find she was one of the criminals. Not only that, but she shoots a blast from her hands at him sending him through a building. Peter wants to help her turn over a new leaf and help her with her powers
Relationships: Peter Parker/Reader, Tom Holland (Actor)/Peter Parker/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	1. Prologue

Peter had reached the top of the FEAST building May had been working at for the past couple months. The snap had left so many people homeless, the shelter was would overflow with people just about every winter when it was impossible to stay outside at night. Peter would come by every now and then to help out any way he could.

He changed out of his Spidey suit on the roof before entering the building and making his way to May's office. He knocked on the door, but she wasn't there. He entered the office and looked around a bit. There was a picture of him, May and Ben all together for his 8th birthday. Peter had big goofy smile on his face and May and Ben were kneeling down on either side of him holding the cake for him. He remembered that birthday quite well. May had spent all day making the cake and getting the party ready, being a frantic mess, and Ben had to calm her down several times before everyone showed up. She just wanted it to be perfect, but in his 8 year old mind, it was. His friends came over and had a blast. He even got an Iron Man helmet that year which made him ecstatic. It was the only thing he wanted that year and he later wore it to the Stark Expo Ben took him to.

"Peter, what are you doing here?"

Peter looked up and May was standing in the door way holding a box with a clipboard resting on top. "I came to help out," he said taking the box from her to relieve her from the weight. "I texted you earlier saying I was coming."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Pete." May removed her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I have been so scatter brained lately. I completely forgot."

"S'okay. I know you're busy," he shrugged it off. "I take this down stairs for you."

"Thanks, hun. I'll be down in a bit."

Peter shot his aunt a smile and left her in her office and went down stairs. The first floor was full of people trying to escape the February cold. There were bunk beds, single beds, and a couple fold out tables and chairs all over the room for the people. Some of the volunteers were handing out blankets for people. Peter was almost to the kitchen when something caught his eye.

In the corner of the room at a table, a girl was looking at a textbook on the table with papers spread out around her and a younger boy sat next to her. It looked like she was helping him with his homework. Peter recognized her from his school, but he couldn't quite place her name. She didn't talk much, but whenever she was called on in class or forced to participate, she always had the right answer or said something intelligent. It was bothering him that he couldn't remember her, but it was nice to see her helping the boy. She must be one of the new volunteers. Peter was about to go over to talk with her when a hand came down on his shoulder.

"Parker! It's about time you showed up," the man said. He was an gentleman with grey hair and smile lines around his mouth.

"Mr.Young, it's good to see you." He's the owner of the building and likes to come down sometimes to help out.

"Your aunt send you down with that?"

"Yeah. She'll be down in a minute."

"Alright then. I gotta get to work, but it was good see you again, Peter."

"You too Mr. Young." Distracted my Mr. Young, Peter took the boxes to the infirmary room for May, then headed to the kitchen to help. It was almost dinner time and they always needed help especially during the winter.

\--

The bell rang throughout the school telling the students to get to first period before the teacher locks them out. Peter grabbed his AP English textbook from his locker and headed in toward his first class. English was not his favorite, but he dealt with it.

Peter was scribbling on his notebook some new suit designs waiting for class to start when the teacher called attention from the whole class.

"Alright class, today we're starting our last major project of the year. You'll be assigned a topic of discussion and the last weeks of school you'll be teaching the class on it in some form or another. You can bring stuff in, create a game, powerpoint, doesn't matter as long as it fills the whole class period and has opportunities for discussion with the class about your topic. You'll be working with a partner, feel free to pick your own."

The teacher passed out the rubric as everyone turned to friend looking for a partner. Peter turned to back of the classroom looking for Ned, but his friend wasn't there. He furrowed his brow confused as why he wasn't there. He pulled out his phone to shoot him a text, but he already had one from Ned.

Stayed home sick today. Could you grab my homework for me? (sick emoji with prayer hands)

Peter texted back a thumbs up. "Does anyone not have a partner?," the teacher called out.

Peter raised his hand the only other person with their hand up was her. The girl he who he couldn't remember the name of. The teacher gestured for them to pair up and Peter made his way over to her side of the room. In all honesty he was excited to be her partner. She was super smart and now he could finally learn her name.

"Hi, Peter," she greeted him as he took the seat in from her. Crap, she knew his name and he didn't know hers. He couldn't possibly ask now, that would be rude, so he settled for a 'Hey' in return.

"Do you have any ideas for a topic?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah actually, but we don't have to do it you don't like it, it's kinda dumb."

"What is it?"

"I was thinking we could do superheros, like the impact the Avengers had on the world and the culture and stigma around them?"

"That's really good idea, Peter. We could talk about the how the battles like the one in New York awhile back would have been different if we only relied on the military and how there are still laws around restricting people with and without powers who are trying to help people."

"Exactly. We have a couple weeks before we present, but if you want we could work on it this weekend."

"Sure, but I can't stay out too late or my dad'll freak. Here gimme your phone, I'll put my number in." Peter handed over his phone and she quickly typed out her name and number and saved it into his contacts then sent herself a message so she would have his number. "Just shoot me a text when you wanna meet. I'm usually free any time."

Peter smiled and nodded as the bell rang and she grabbed her bag to and left. He looked down at the conversation that was still open on his phone and read the name. Y/F/N Y/L/N (english project partner). Now that he saw it, he wanted to slap himself in the face for forgetting it. The name was so familiar to him of course it belonged to her.

\--

Y/N walked home that night in the freezing cold. She could see her breathe in the air every time she breathed. She paused by a street lamp and looked up to a starless sky. She blow into the air watching her breathe leave her lips, swirling away into the night. It was a simple thing, but she liked watching her breathe nonetheless. It made her feel like kid pretending to smoke a cigarette, not that she ever had or would.

"Need a ride home miss?"

She turned her head toward the voice and a police car was parked next to her on the street. She recognized the officer immediately. "I don't have a home anymore."

Officer Davis put the car in park and got out. He stood in front of her as she leaned against the lamp post. "You're not doing what I think you're doing, are you?"

"No," she said bluntly.

"It's not safe for a young girl to be out alone this late. You should be more careful."

"I'm not that young. And it's the quickest way back to the shelter and I'm fine, so what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is you shouldn't be out this late in the first place. Do you want your dad to worry about you more than he already does? I don't think he could handle having both you and your mother hurt?"

She looked down ashamed. She didn't want her dad to be worried. He already has to deal with so much and she shouldn't put her safety on his list of things to worry about. But she still felt defensive. She can handle herself, in ways that that only she knew about. And so what that she was out at night by herself. She just wanted some fresh air and be alone for a bit.

"Is he still at the hospital, do you know?" she asked.

"I think so."

"Okay, I'll head back," she started walking down the sidewalk, but Officer Davis pulled her back by her arm.

"Nope. I'm taking you back. Come on little missy."

She groaned, but got in the back seat anyway. She hated riding the back, it was always so uncomfortable and the seat belt only sorta worked. "You should really get this thing fixed."

The officer chuckled and replied, "I'll drive slow."

Y/N slouched down in her seat and hugged her backpack close to her chest. "Thanks. By the way."

"Family helps out family. It's what we do."

"You know we're not actually related right?"

"Ouch. You wound me, Y/L/N."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter discovers something about his classmate that he probably should'nt have known.

Peter was perched on the roof and an apartment building scrolling through his instagram. He posted a picture to his spidey account of a selfie with the caption: Slow day for Spider-Cop.

"Peter there's suspicious activity in the parking lot on 12th. A man seen trying to break into a truck. Maybe you should check it out," Karen spoke.

"Sure thing. Let's head on over there." Peter shot a web to the nearest building ledge and begin swinging his way over, the wind whipping around him as he did.

"Incoming text from Y/N Y/L/N. Would you like me to read it?," the AI said.

"Let me deal with this guy first, then tell me," Peter replied. He landed a few feet away from a man in a baggy football jersey who was using a crow bar to try and open the door to a truck. "You know, it's a lot easier to open trucks with keys."

"Fuck off Spider-Man. This is my car," the man cursed going back to trying to open the truck.

"Oh, are your keys crow bar shaped? I had no idea." Peter webbed the man feet to the ground so he couldn't get away.

"What the fuck!" the man shouted as he grabbed a gun from the waist band of his pants and pointed it at him. Peter was quick to web the hand with the gun to the truck. The man tried to release his hand from the webbing, pulling at it to try and get free, but was unsuccessful.

"Okay Mr. Criminal, looks like the only car you'll need a cop car," Peter said. "Karen alert the police, please."

"Of course. You received another text from Y/N Y/L/N. Would you like me to show you the message?"

"Yes, please." Peter shot a web to the building next to him way from the crime scene. In the corner of his vision displayed the text conversation between him and Y/N.

Y/N: Hi Peter. I'm at the Library.

Y/N: Are you coming? We're meeting at 2 right?

"Karen, reply back to her that I'm running late and I'll be there soon."

"Sure, Peter."

Peter swung into the alley near the library. He moved behind a dumpster where he stashed his backpack, and thankfully it was still there. He couldn't lose another backpack since May stopped buying him new ones. He changed into his street clothes, a T-shirt and blue jeans, and stuffed his suit into a secret pocket in his backpack before climbing the steps of the library.

Y/N was already waiting in a study area of the library. She checked her phone every few minutes waiting for Peter to show up. Her laptop had several tabs open to articles and a few videos about the start of rise of Superheroes in America. She even managed to find a documentary about Captain America that Peggy Carter herself spoke in. Y/N always liked her when she learned about her during World War II unit in history class. She seemed like a badass woman who made a name for herself. It was a shame more women like her are left out of history.

"Sorry. I'm late, got caught up with, uh- some stuff," Peter rambled as he approached the table she was set up at.

"No problem. I already started on some research, and I found a documentary I think you should watch."

"Sure. Sounds good." Peter got to work immediately. They both worked mostly in silence and would occasionally share something they found that was interesting. A couple hours passed as they wrote their paper and came up with ideas about how to get the class involved during their presentation. Peter had the idea that they could make a buzzfeed type quiz the students could do at the end with which superhero they would get.

After awhile, Peter suggested they take a break. He moved to the seat next to Y/N and turned his laptop to face them both so they could vine completions. When the second one video was over Peter turned to her.

"I saw you the other day FEAST, but I didn't get a chance to say hi," he said.

Y/N's breathe caught in her throat. "Really? You saw me there?"

"Yeah. My aunt works there, so I stop by every so often and help out." He shrugged like it was no big deal, but Y/n only retreated.

"Oh cool," she nodded along, but didn't meet his eyes. "You wouldn't mind not telling anyone about it, right?"

"I guess not." Peter was a bit confused. Why she not want people to know she worked at FEAST? It was a great charity, and helps a lot of people. Why be ashamed of that? "But why not. It's a good place."

Y/N sighed and bite her lip. "It's just, I know that a lot of people were hurt by the snap and that most people would understand, but I still don't want people to know." Her phone buzzed on the table next her binder. She checked the message and her eyes went wide. "I'm sorry, Peter I have to go. I text you later," she called after him after packing up her things. Peter sat there a little dumb founded, but waved goodbye to her fleeting body anyway.

\---

Y/N rushed into the hospital room with flushed cheeks and out of breathe. Her dad sat in chair with his head down and arms resting against his knees. His hair was a mess, probably from him pulling at it. Officer Davis stood next her dad with his hand on his shoulder and a depressed expression. The melancholy air in the room made her look to her mom laying in the hospital bed, but nothing seemed out of place there. She was still in a coma and the monitors all looked normal.

"What's going on?" Y/N's dad's head popped up at the sound of her voice.

"Y/N hun, have a seat." He stood from his chair and took a seat on the bed next her unconcious mom. Officer Davis closed the current between her mom's bed and her person she shared to room with to give them some privacy.

"Is everything okay? Is mom okay? That text you sent was super vague." She looked between her dad and Davis. She didn't understand why he was here. Sure he's family, but he only shows up to family meetings when it was something serious.

"Sweetheart," he sighed. "Your mother has been in a coma for some time now. Look, hun, I'm just gonna give it to you straight. Our insurance runs out at the end of the week and we can't afford to keep your mother here."

Her heart dropped to her stomach. "So what does that mean? We can just move her to less expense hospital right?"

"I can't afford to keep her anywhere, Y/N. And the hospital is already overflowing. We have to-"

"No!," Y/N shot up from her seat. Tears were pricking at her eyes, waiting for the moment to fall. "We'll find the money some how. I'll drop out of school and get a job, I'll sell my robots, I'll, I'll..."

Officer Davis put his hand on her shoulder. "There's nothing we can do, Y/N. It's time."

She turned to him, red eyed and ready to break down. "Please," she whispered.

The sadness on his face said everything. There really was nothing they could do. Y/N crashed into him and sobbed into his chest. Officer Davis wrapped his arms around her and her dad came up behind her and put his arms around both of them in group hug. Y/N shook in their arms, her breathing ragged. Her dad and Davis were starting to tear up again too. Her dad already broke down earlier when he got the news. He called Jeff, who was like a brother to him ever since they met in the academy, because he was always there when he need support. Now they both needed to support his daughter.

Y/N turned her head to look at her mother, who was still sleeping in the bed. Her hair was flowing down her sides in a beautiful mess. Her face was so relaxed. But she was beginning to look pale and thin, not getting enough exercise or sunlight. Here she was, the strongest woman who Y/N had even known, looking sickly about to be gone forever. Y/N thought of all the times she had with her. Going out to dinner, going to the park, helping her build toy robots. There was one in particular that stood out. She had lost at science the fair to the new kids and devisated. She cried for hours into her mom's shoulder. To cheer her up, her mom took her to get ice cream, and they continued to do that every year since.

Why did she have to fly to London on that day? Why did the plane leave late? If it was on time she could have been safe on the ground in London or at least dead in the ocean somewhere. Either way Y/N could cope with what happened, but this? Halfway between life and death, in a coma from head trauma, where her husband and daughter would have to watch her slowly die? It's bullshit. Y/N won't give up on her yet. Her mother won't die, if she has anything to say about it.

\---

Davis had dropped her off at FEAST, her dad was going to stay with her mom as much as he could for as long as she was still there. Y/N was on a mission to figure out how to keep her mom alive. She started with what looked like a pile a metal that she kept under her bed. No one ever touched it because at first glance it just looked like nothing, but when she pulled it out and turned it on, it could destroy.

There was a bot fight that night that she hadn't planned on entering, but now she was desperate for the prize money. But it all depended on how much money people decided to bet. She hoped it would be enough.

"Hey hot hands!," a man called behind her. Immediately, her fist clenched from anger and annoyance.

"What, Dodge?," she snapped back.

Two men, one with wild black hair and dark circles under his eyes and the other with a black beanie and a tattoo peeking out from under his shirt, approached her.

"Hey I didn't do nothing," he said placing his hand over his chest in defense. "You should more kind to your fellow neighbor." She didn't reply, just kept glaring at them. "So listen we gotta job to do tonight and it'd be swell if you could join us."

"No thank you, I have my own thing tonight," she replied as calmly as she could.

"Come on, you'd so super helpful. I'd give you extra if you come goodie-two-shoes."

"Tempting, but again I have something else tonight." She walked off ignoring their attempts to get her to come to whatever crime they were going to commit that night.

They'd been bugging her ever since they saw her in the kitchen heating up a cup of hot chocolate, saying that she help them rob a convenience store and be a big help. She'd wish they would just leave her alone.

If she was honest with herself, the idea of doing a job with to get money was indeed tempting. But for now she had her own ways of getting money. She just wished it would be enough tonight.

With her robot in her backpack, she rode the subway to where the tournament was. When she got there, the bouncer knew her face right away and let her in without a word. She was easily the youngest one there. It usually took years to perfect a bot enough to last in a fight, but there was a reason she was on scholarship at Midtown.

Her bot didn't look like much, it was fairly small, but it has proven to be the best one there time and time again. There was already a match started so people were cheering on the bots they had their money on. Y/N wrote her robot's name for the next match.

When it was her time to fight, she placed her small robot in the ring across from the rather big one that had been beating the other bots that night. The owner of said bot kinda looked like a dad, but too creepy to ever have kids. Y/N had her key pad ready as the officiate signaled the start of the fight. Her opponent was concentrated on his bot with an intense focus, that didn't match Y/N's. She was focused of course, but this was an easy win for her. She pressed a button that activated a blade and sawed through the rising arm with spikes that was about to crush her robot. The arm fell in two and her opponent looked at her with shock.

She just smirked and gave him a shrug as if to say it was nothing for her to win as she was named the winner and handed her prize money. The winners would always get the money from the bets plus a 300 dollar bonus for being the winner. He looked pissed, like he wanted to break her robot, so that's when she knew it was time to leave. Though everyone there was either a nerd or someone just looking to lose their money, they were never kind to her. She had robots broken many times due to sore losers. Apparently, they didn't like losing to a young girl. Hurts their masculinity.

She left before the creepy dad could get to her and was counting her money on the way back to the subway. She must have counted it five times before her heart broke once again. It wasn't enough. Not even close.

It was getting late so the people in the FEAST hall were starting to turn in. The lights had been dimmed so people could sleep, but those still awake could see. Most of the beds were filled with people sleeping away their troubles. There were a few people still awake, watching the news on the TV they had set on the other side of the hall, or playing card games or chess at the tables.

Y/N walked through the halls of FEAST past the kitchen, past the wall with all the pictures of people still missing from the snap that read have you seen me at the top, toward the hall where everyone stayed. Everyone was asleep at this point so she made sure her quick footsteps landed quietly on the floor. She put her robot back under her bed and hide the money in a pocket in her backpack.

In the corner of the room sat Martin and Dodge playing a game of poker.

"Shit," Dodge muttered to himself as Martin pulled the pile of dollars and other valuables toward himself. "One more hand, all or nothing."

Martin smirked and licked lips. "No deal, man. Cause you see I have the all and you have the nothing."

"Come on Martin, one more," Dodge begged.

Y/N sighed and wished that she had more money because she really didn't want to do what she was about to do. But desperation can lead people to do stupid things. She got up and walked over to the men playing poker.

"Well, look who wants our company now," Martin said. "Change your mind, sweetheart?"

Y/N closed her eyes and took a deep breathe. She really didn't want to do this.

\---

The amount of criminal activity has been slow all day. It was a good thing, it meant New York was a bit safer for the time being, but Peter was getting a bit antsy. He wanted to stop someone for more than just breaking into a car. Of course it was wrong to want a big crime to break out, and he knew it, which is why he thought he might turn in a bit early today.

He crawled into his bedroom window and flopped down on his bed. He hadn't taken his mask or suit off yet, but he was ready to go to sleep.

"Peter, there's been a reported robbery taking place. Would you like me to direct you the quickest path?" Karen spoke.

Peter's eyes shot open, the white eyes on his mask widening with them. Jumped to his window and shot a web to swing. He had been waiting for this all day. When he got to the robbery, he perched on the building across the street.

"Karen, what am I looking at?"

"Looks like three individuals breaking into the ATM. It doesn't seem they have any enhanced equipment with them."

"Oh this'll be fun."

Peter jumped to the ground and just walked through the door to the room. He stood there for a moment, watching them. They had the front of the machine open and were putting the money into a black duffel. They had black gorilla masks on, and didn't look very intimidating.

"You know, this brings me. I stopped the avengers from robbing an ATM a couple years ago. Ah, memories."

The three people stopped what they were doing at the sound of Spider-man behind them. The one on the ground with the bag lifted a gun to Spider-man, but he quickly dodged the bullet.

"I didn't think gorillas needed to rob a bank," Peter dodge more bullets shot at him and jumped over them onto the ceiling. "I guess we all need money sometimes."

Two of the individual were shooting at him and the third was busy packing up the money. He would have to deal with the two gunman first. Peter shot a taser web at one and kicked the other in the chest sending them flying back. The one that got tased was on the ground trying to recover from the electricity running through them, but was starting to get up. Peter roundhouse kicked the other back into the wall and shot a web to secure them there then shot a web that spread out like a net to catch the other. When he looked around he noticed that there was still one missing, along with the bag of money.

Peter rushed out of the room onto the street, but he didn't see anyone. "Karen turn on heat vision."

"Right away, Peter." Everything turned a different color, but most of it was still dark. Jumped to the top of the nearest building and looked around. About a block away there was a red-orange blob moving away from him. He swung as fast as he could toward the figure, and when he got close enough, he could see them struggling to hold a bag over their shoulder.

"That's them. Karen back to normal vision." Peter caught up to them and swung toward them kicking them further down the street. "You know it's easier to run without the extra weight of the bag on your shoulder. But I get it you want to extra work out."

The person was still slumped on the ground on their elbows trying to catch their breathe. Peter webbed the bag of money to building on the right of them before he approached the person on the ground. Their gorilla mask was crooked on head, but the person pulled the mask above their mouth to spit on the ground, before they fixed it and got back up on wobbly legs.

Peter shoved them against the wall and webbed them in place. "If you wanna be a criminal, you gotta get better at it, man." The person's head slumped forward and their mask slid of their face. Peter stilled as he saw the person's face. It couldn't be. And before he could stop himself, he said, "Y/N?"

Her eyes were closed, head slouched forward. Her hair was tied back, but was coming loose from being under a mask and fighting with Spider-Man. It was the same girl he had studied with only a couple hours ago. Why the hell was she robbing an ATM?

"What-what are you-," Peter stuttered. Before he could comprehend what was happening, the webbing around her started to glow a bright orange. It started to melt around her, freeing her arms, and then her torso, and then her legs, and then she was on her knees on the ground.

Peter stood back dumbfounded at what he had just witnessed. The girl looked up at him from her knees with a furrowed brow and fierce look Peter had never seen on her. She raised her fist out in front of her and shot a glowing blast that sent Peter flying into the building across from them and through several more walls after that. When Peter came to, Y/N and the bag of money were gone once again.


	3. Chapter 3

Everything felt sore. Peter woke with debris and dirt all over him. He groaned as he got up. He was in an office type space surrounded by cubicles, the one he was on top of was destroyed. Ahead of him there was a giant gaping hole in the wall, and then another, and then another that lead to the outside. He would be in serious trouble with police for this. He hoped the owner of the building had superhero insurance. He cracked his neck and moved his arms and legs to loosen up the muscles.

When he fully realized what had just happened he rushed to the outside and looked around for Y/N, but she and the money were gone. His webs were in a melted puddle on the ground from where she melted them to get free.

"Karen how long have I been out?," Peter asked.

"About 30 minutes. Are you gonna go after her?"

"She's long gone by now. Karen, what am I gonna do?"

"You could report her to the police."

"I could", Peter shot a web and started swinging across the city. "I thought she was my friend, or at least about to be. And she shoot fire blasts things from her fists? What the hell?"

"She doesn't know you're Spider-Man," Karen spoke, "so there is a possibility she shows up to school tomorrow. You could talk to her about it then."

"I don't think she'll show up tomorrow. I think I just need to get home for now, May's probably worried."

Peter climbed to his window and when he fell on his bed, he fell asleep immediately this time. It was late, but May had only just come home when she heard the window to Peter's room open and close. She would always check on him, make sure he was okay and not beat up too badly. When she cracked the door open to his room, she saw her nephew passed out on his bed still clad in his suit. May sighed to herself. She always thought he worked too hard sometimes, that he should just let the police handle it, but that's not how Peter saw it. If a person needed help, someone had to be there and the police couldn't always be there, so he made sure he would.

May pulled back the covers of Peter's bed and moved him so both legs were on the bed. She pulled the covers back over him so he was properly in bed. Peter moved in his sleep so he was laying on his side, his face pressed against the his pillow. May smiled to herself and brushed his hair out of his face.

"Goodnight, Peter," she whispered before leaving her nephew to sleep.

\--

Oh god, holy shit. Y/N thought. She was speed walking back to FEAST with the strap of the bag of money slung across her body in a less obvious way than when Spider-Man caught her. Her heart was pounding out of control in her chest. Had she really just done that? Robbed a bank? And then fought with Spider-Man? And Won? Her? The hell? She hoped she didn't kill him. It was hard to kill him, but times were weird. She didn't want to be the down of New York's favorite spider, but she had to get away from him. He's fine. He's fine.

Her dad hadn't come back from the hospital yet. He'd probably want has much time with as possible, it'll be hard to make him leave.

She took her bed in the middle of the room. Despite most of the room being asleep, she felt like every eye was on her, like the police would show up any minute to arrest her. Spider-Man saw her face, so why wouldn't he report her. Did he actually report people? All she heard about him was that he left the person webbed somewhere for the police to pick them up. Martin and Dodge would be arrested by now. They better not rat her out. They agreed not to snitch if one of them was caught. But they all knew how according to plan their heist went.

Y/N needed to sleep because she still had school the next day, but every time she closed her eyes, she saw Spider-Man coming to get her with police behind him ready to arrest her. It was already a long night, why not make it a little longer?

\--

The walk to school was hard. Y/N clung to her backpack straps avoiding eye contact with the people, not that she didn't everyday, but this time it felt like if she made eye contact with someone they would report her. She told herself to breathe. No one knows anything. Stay calm.

She pushed past the students of her school to get to her locker and pulled out her textbook with shaky hands. It almost slipped from her fingers before she caught against the lockers and put it in her backpack. It wasn't until she closed her locker door that she noticed Peter had approached her making her jump.

"Jesus, Peter!" she muttered.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Peter said. "Are you okay? You seem jumpy."

Y/N shook her head in dismissal. "No, no. I-I'm fine, really."

"Hey listen. Is everything okay at home? You seemed worried when you left yesterday."

"Everything's fine. Just family stuff, that's all."

"Are you sure?" he insisted.

"Yes!" she snapped at him. He flinched a little and she felt bad. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to snap at you. We should probably get to first period."

She headed in the direction of the classroom and Peter followed behind her.

"If you ever need anything, I'd be happy to help," Peter said once he caught up with her. "I know it can be hard, and money is always an issue-"

"Peter what are you going on about? Is this just you feeling sorry for me?"

"What? No!. I was just- I just know what it's like when it feels like the world's against you. You'll want to do desperate things to get out of it, but that doesn't mean you should something that could get you in trouble."

Y/N looked at him like he had two heads. What was he going on about? Did he know? She grabbed his arm and dragged him into the girl's bathroom. Peter didn't fight her, even though he could easily overpower her if he wanted. She locked the door behind them and looked under the stalls to make sure no one else was in there with them.

Y/N whipped around to look at him. "What do you know?" she demanded.

"Know?" He shook his head looking confused.

"Peter, don't play dumb. You were going on about not doing anything to get in trouble. What do you know?"

"Well... Since I had that Stark Internship, I met a couple of the Avengers,... including Spider-Man."

"I thought you worked more on the technical side."

"I worked on his suit a couple of times."

"And he talked to you about me?" Her heart beat in chest threatening to burst.

"Yeah. He told me about what happened last night. That he caught you robbing an ATM."

"Fuck," she muttered. "What else did he tell you?"

"That you uh, you can..." Peter didn't really know how to put it. He wasn't exactly sure what it was that she could do, so instead made a fist thrust his fist out in front of her like she did and made an explosion sound.

She was bit confused by the gesture, but when she connected the dots, she looked panicked. She grabbed his arms and shook him the slightest bit. "You can not tell anyone about any of this, okay. No one knows about any of it."

"I won't tell anyone, I promise."

She let go and little relieved. That's what bothered her the most. That her secret power get out. She didn't want that kind of attention, and it would cause more trouble for her than she needed. Then the other part problem she faced. "Are you going to turn me in?"

"No," Peter said. "But I think you should turn in the money."

"Peter I need that money," she begged.

"Y/N, what you did was wrong, and illegal. You can't keep that money."

"My mom's gonna die without it!" Peter looked taken aback. He was not expecting her to say that. "When she returned from the snap, she was flying to Denver for a conference. The plane had just taken off, so it wasn't that far off the ground. But the fall left her in a comma. Our insurance runs out at the end of the week and the hospital is overflowing so they're basically asking us to pull the plug because they can't keep her. If I don't find the money, we'll have to-. Yeah." She choked back a sob not wanting to cry, her head hung low.

Peter's face fell. He didn't about that. It made sense now. She didn't seem like the type of person to commit robbery, but now he knew that she was just desperate. Whenever he fought a criminal, he never knew why they were doing whatever illegal thing they were doing and he liked it that way, it was easier. Knowing this made him feel guilt, and pity, and all around just sorry for her. He knew what it was like to lose a mom and he wouldn't wish that on anyone.

"I didn't know," Peter spoke. "I'm so sorry, Y/N. But how were you going to explain this to your dad or the hospital?"

"There was a bot fight last night too that I went to before, you know. I won, but it wasn't enough. I was gonna tell my dad that I got the money from there. He knows I go to those, so."

Peter sighed. "Look, FEAST has a donation center that people donate money to for the homeless and poor. I'll talk to May to see if she can give you and your dad some money. But only if you turn in the money you stole. Just say you found it in a dumpster by where Spider-Man caught you."

"Thank you, Peter." Before he knew it, she had her arms around his neck. It wasn't until he heard her sniff that he returned the hug. He felt her breathing start to heave against him, so rubbed her back to try to comfort her.

When she pulled away, she wiped the tears from her eyes, but they were still a little red. "I'm sorry. You probably didn't want some random girl's tears on your shirt."

"It's alright. And you're not random, you're my friend."

She smiled at hearing him using the word friend. It was nice to hear. "Thanks. We should get to class. We're already late."

"Definitely." He gestured for her to go first and they both headed to first period. The teacher made them go to the front office and get a tardy slip before he let them in the room. Peter took his seat and almost immediately was tapped on the shoulder. The girl behind him passed him a note that recognized as Ned's hand writing. He looked back at his friend, but Ned pointed to the note.

Where were you? And why were you with Y/N?

He scribbled out a reply and passed back to the note to Ned.

I'll tell you later.

\---

When the bell rung for lunch, Ned met up with Peter in their usual spot in the cafeteria.

"Hey, man. So what's up with you and Y/N showing up late," he said getting straight to the point. If Peter showed up late it was usually because he was out being spidey, but since he was with Y/N, it was odd.

Peter couldn't tell Ned everything, it wasn't his place. So he kept it simple.

"I was helping her with something that was happening in her life, no big deal."

"Since when are you two friends? Are you cheating on me?" Ned pouted.

"Dude, I would never cheat on you," Peter played along. "We got paired up on the project in English, so..." Peter looked around the cafeteria and noticed Y/N wasn't there. He wanted to make sure she was okay. "Hey, do mind if we eat somewhere else?"

\---

No one dared to sit outside for lunch in the cold unless you wanted people to think you were crazy, but it was the only place where one could get away from the crowd and be alone. The bleachers that surrounded the football field were freezing and covered in ice. But that wasn't a problem for her. She climbed the steps, the sound of the melt clanging under her feet as she went. She held out her bare hand over the bench and it started to steam. The ice melting away around her hand so she could sit and not have a wet spot in her butt when she got up.

That was one benefit of her power. She was always warm in the winter and she never had to worry about looking like she peed her pants.

She pulled out a muffin she grabbed from the cafeteria at FEAST this morning and pulled away the wrapper. The taste of pastry and blueberry distracted her for the moment. Her talk Peter earlier calmed her down, but there was still some anxiety left. She didn't have to worry about anyone finding out about her power, but there was still a possibility of Martin and Dodge snitching. The last thing she needed was to disappoint her cop for a father by getting arrest for robbery.

"Why are you out in cold? It's freezing."

At the bottom of the bleachers were two shivering boys, Peter and Ned. If anyone was going to come and bother her, of course it was Peter.

"Do you mind if we join you?" Peter asked.

"Or you join us inside because I'd rather not die of hypothermia," Ned added.

"It's not that cold," she commented.

"Okay, Elsa. Come join us inside please, so Peter will shut up."

Peter glared at his friend, "Dude."

"Okay, fine," she gave in. She wrapped her muffin up as best she could and climbed down the bleachers.

She followed them inside and thought they were going back to the cafeteria where everyone else was they lead her to an empty classroom.

"Mr. Harrington lets us eat in here sometimes," Peter said when he noticed her confused expression. The boys shrugged off their coats, but Y/N kept hers on as they pulled out their lunches.

When Ned had his back turned, Y/N mouthed to Peter, "Does he know?", and he shook his head and mouthed back "no".

"So, Y/N. Why were you sitting out in the freezing cold by yourself?" Ned asked.

"I don't like the crowd in the cafeteria. And no one wants to sit outside in the winter, so that's where I go."

"You could sit with us if you don't want to be alone. Peter and I usually eat then hang out in Mr. Harrington's room but we could eat here if you want."

Peter nodded along agreeing with what Ned was saying.

"That's very generous, Ned. Thanks."

Peter and Ned then talked about a new Last Of Us game that was suppose to come out soon. Y/N would contribute to the conversation when she could, but she didn't mind that she wasn't pressured to talk. She didn't really feel like talking, too much on her mind, but she enjoyed the company Peter and Ned provided. They were good people. Peter would shoot her a smile every now and then, and Ned offered her some of his gold fish. She had to admit that when the bell rang to end lunch, that maybe it was better to eat with friends than by herself.

\--

The school bell had rung signaling the end of the day. She wasn't ready to go home yet. She didn't want to face the world she had to live in now. Maybe the walk back FEAST will help. Peter did promise to talk to May. She had met her a few times, and she always seemed like the nicest woman to ever exist. Hopefully she could help. She packed up her locker and locked it before heading out to the front gates. It was a fairly long walk to FEAST, and the cold February air didn't help, but she didn't mind. It gave her time to think. The students filed out of the building, some heading to the cars to be taken home and others walking down the street, but Y/N didn't make it very far down the sidewalk before she was stopped.

Woop, Woop. A police siren went off next to her on the street.

"Would the young girl in the red sweatshirt and black jeans carrying the galaxy print backpack please stop walking and put your hands in the air," the officer spoke on the loud speaker. She would have been scared that Spider-Man had told the police about her and that she was about to be arrested, but the voice of the cop just annoyed her. She turned around and glared at Officer Davis who had a big grin on his face. She shook her head, refusing to play along with his antics. "Put your hands up or be arrested for resisting a ride home."

"Seriously!", she yelled at him. People were starting to stare now. Begrudgingly she went along with Davis' game and put her hands up. He got out of the car and opened the back seat for her to get in. "Do you have to do that?" she said once he was back in the driver's seat.

"No, but you need someone to embarrass you while your dad's away."

Davis's son was in the back seat with her and he looked just as annoyed with him as her. "Does he do this to you too?" she asked.

Miles looked at her with a blank face. "Yes. Try being actually related to him."

"You two love me." The backseat didn't reply. "So how was your day, Y/N."

"As good as any day at school is."

The police scanner came to life with a static-y voice. "We have a 10-10 and 10-SM on 110th and 45th. Officers in area respond."

"That Spider-Man," Davis groaned. "I don't know if I like him. Sure he helped saved the world and all that, but sometimes he needs to let the police do their job. What do you think about him, Y/N?"

A pain in the ass that spoiled her criminal activity. "Um, never really gave him much thought. Don't really have an opinion."

"That month he was gone for whatever reason was great."

Y/N ignored him letting go on his rant about the superhero. She had her own issues with him for more personal reasons, but she knew that he was just trying to help people. What threw her off about him was that he knew her. He was shocked to see her. She thought back to last night. Spider-Man knew her name. How could he? They had never met before. The only way he could have known her was if he knew knew her without the mask. She didn't know that many people personally so there was a limited number of people it could be behind the mask. But she knew one thing for sure, that whoever he was, she needed to figure it out and make sure that he keeps his mouth shut about her. And her first clue on how to find him was Peter.


	4. Chapter 4

After Davis dropped her, she wanted to get as much homework done as possible, then she could start on her real homework. Find out who Spider-Man is.

FEAST was pretty full today, everyone trying to escape the cold. Some of the helpers were passing out blankets to the new comers. She had just entered the main area when her dad came running up to her. "Y/N!", he shouted and wrapped her in a big bear hug.

"Mhf cand breev", She muffled in his shoulder, trying to tell him she can't breath. He let her go, but his excitement didn't waver.

"Sweetheart, we got the money for your mom. We can move her to that private hospital."

"What, really?," she exclaimed. Peter told her he would talk to his aunt about a donation, but she wasn't trying to get her hopes up. She guessed Peter was good for his word and that next time she sees him she'll have to thank him.

"I got a call from May Parker this morning. FEAST is donating money so we can move your mother."

He pulled you back into a hug and you wrapped your arms around him. You body started to shutter, her dad rubbed your back to comfort you. You didn't want to cry, but you couldn't help it. Tears fell down your face, your dad wiping them away with his thumb.

He bent down so that he was eye level with you. "She'll be okay. We're gonna be okay."

\----

Peter: Hey, we still on to work on the project?

Y/N: Yep. I'm almost there

Y/N put her phone back in her pocket. The train had been delayed for engine problems or something like that, it was hard to understand over the loud speaker. Her and Peter had planned on working at his apartment that day instead of the library. It was too cold to go outside and his apartment was closer.

She checked her phone one last time to maker sure she was at the right address before entering the building. Peter was already in the lobby waiting for her.

"Hey", he greeted. "You ready to talk superheroes?"

"Yep," she replied though she only had one in particular on her mind. They climbed the stairs to his apartment and Peter lead her to his room once they were inside. Peter cleared some papers off his desk and threw some clothes that were on the floor into the closet.

"Sorry about the mess. I didn't have time to clean," he apologized.

"S'okay. It's cleaner than my uncle's kid's room."

"Wouldn't that make them your cousin?"

"Well, he's not really my uncle. He used to be my dad's partner when he was still a cop."

Peter's room really wasn't all that messy to begin with. His desk had textbooks and old assignments in between the pages, an old gameboy and a nice camera. He had a cork board above his desk with pictures and polaroids and some doodles. He had The Empire Strikes Back and Aliens movie posters on his other walls.

"You like photography?," she asked pointing to the photos on the cork board.

"Oh, it's more of a hobby, but yeah I like it."

Y/N looked at the pictures on the board more closely. Some were normal pictures of his friends and of the decathlon team, there was even one of him and Tony Stark. Seeing that one made her a little sad because of how much Peter looked up to him. But others were more artsy pictures of nature or people and some were of Spider-Man.

"These are great. I've never seen pictures of Spider-Man in action this clear."

"Thanks", Peter had set up his laptop and notebooks on the floor. "You want to get started?"

"Sure." Y/N set up her work space next to him on the ground and they got to work.

They worked on the project together, Peter laying on his side on the floor and Y/N sat with her back against his bed and her laptop on her legs. When enough time had pasted, she started her mission.

"So uh, you know Spider-Man, huh," she commented. She watched him from behind her laptop to gauge his reaction.

"I mean, I guess," he shrugged his shoulders still looking at his laptop. "He's a busy guy and I've got school and the internship, so we've only met a few times."

"But you're close enough to talk about me."

Peter finally looked up at her. He was trying to hide something, she could tell that much from the surprise in his eyes.

"Uhm. We just happen to meet that night while I was still at Stark Industries and he stopped by." Peter went back to looking at his computer avoiding eye contact.

"Did he say that he knew me? When you talked?" she continued.

"Uh, I don't- I don't remember. Why?"

"Because he said my name that night and acted like we knew each other."

"Well, maybe you have met and you just don't remember?" Peter offered as he sat up and sat with his legs crossed.

"I think I would remember meeting Spider-Man. Did he mention me or anything? I mean beyond the obvious"

"Uh. Um. No. I-I don't. I don't think so?" Peter was stuttering more than usual and he was hoping Y/N wouldn't notice, but she did.

"You okay there, Pete?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

Y/N looked around the room at the photos he had of Spider-Man. No one had ever gotten pictures of him that were that focused and up close. One of them even looked like a selfie. That's when she put it together. Why Spider-Man knew her name.

"Wait, Peter. Are you Spider-Man?" Peter didn't say anything, just looked at her with wide eyes and his mouth open. "You are, aren't you?"

Peter shook his head. "I'm not." His eye had panic in them.

"Oh my god, Peter. You saw me rob a bank and I blasted you through a wall!"

"Look, I'm fine," Peter set his laptop to the side and moved toward her. "It's fine, Y/N".

"So you are Spider-Man".

Peter couldn't hide it anymore. Y/N was too smart for that. "Okay, I am, but please don't tell anyone".

"I won't. Did you tell anyone about me?"

"No," Peter shook his head "Not about the robbery or your powers."

"Good," She nodded. "I'm really sorry about that by the way."

"Don't be, I understand why you did it."

"How are okay?"

"Of course." Peter had his arms out gesturing to his body. "I heal pretty quickly. I've been through a lot worse. I get beat up all the time as Spider-Man and I'm usually fine or at least able to function within the next one or two days".

"I guess you're lucky then". Y/N had a almost sad look on her face like something happened. "I'm sorry I hurt you."

"It's okay. I'm fine and I know why you did it." Y/N still looked a bit sad, so Peter thought he might change the subject. "Hey, why don't we take a break. We can play some Mortal Kombat if you want."

"That sounds like a good idea."

Peter set up the game while Y/N made herself comfy on his bed. Peter took a seat next to her on the bed and the played the game. Peter would consider himself good at Mortal Kombat, he always won when he played with Ned or May, but to be fair, May didn't really know how to play. But after playing with Y/N, he could be considered just as good as May.

"Damn, You're a pro at this."

"Maybe you just suck."

"Okay, ouch." Y/N was kicking his ass. His health bar was going down quicker than ever has before until finally his character on wobbly feet the game shouted "FINISH HIM!" to which Y/N did.

"I want a rematch," Peter proclaimed.

"You're on, Pete."

They played one more round and Peter had his ass handed to him again. "I think I need to reevaluate my skill level at this."

Y/N giggled. "Maybe. But to be fair, I've probably put too many hours into this game." Y/N rested her control in her lap. "Thank you, by the way. For talking with your aunt. My dad got the call that we can move my mom to a private hospital soon."

"It's not big deal. I am your friendly neighbor Spider-Man after all, it's what I do."

Y/N smiled and playfully shoved his shoulder making him laugh. She liked his laugh. It was nice to hear.

"Peter, I'm home!"

Peter got up from his bed and left the room. Y/N felt awkward just staying in Peter's room by herself, so she followed.

May was in the kitchen surrounded by grocery bags. "I could have helped you bring up the groceries", Peter complained.

"I can handle it. Besides I wanted to bring it all upstairs in one trip", May looked past Peter at Y/N behind him. "Peter, are you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"Oh, May this is Y/N. Y/N, this is my aunt."

"Oh, so you're Y/N! It's a pleasure to meet you", May pulled her into a hug. Y/N was a little surprised at first, but she responded quickly and hugged her back. The way May hugged her reminded her of her mom's hugs. It made her a little sad, but grateful at the same time. May let her go, "I'm so sorry about your mom."

"It's okay. Thank you for helping my family out."

"Oh, no need to thank me. I'm happy to help anyone in need."

"Still, I appreciate it."

"Are you staying for dinner, sweetheart?"

"As much as I would love food that wasn't from the cafeteria, I have to get back soon. I haven't seen my mom today and I should see her."

"Well, you're welcome here anytime you want a home cooked meal."

"Yeah, if it's not burnt," Peter sassed.

May playfully smacked her nephew's shoulder, but there was a small smile hidden behind the fake the anger. "This boy, I can't take him anywhere without him insulting my cooking."

"You know I love your cooking. Just when it's not burnt."

May glared at him. You watched the two interact and there was a small pull on your heart. It was like how you and your mom would act. Teasing the other, but out of love. It made her miss her. So much.

"Well whether my cooking is burnt or not, you're always welcome here."

You looked at Peter and he only smiled back at you. "Thank you, I appreciate that."

\---

Your mom looked faded. It wasn't anything new, but that didn't make you like the sight of it. You wanted to roll her bed out outside so she could get some vitamin D, even if the sky was covered in clouds, there had to be some sun.

Her hand was cold against yours. You had tried to warm your hand against hers to maybe spark some life back into her, but it didn't work. It never did.

In times like that you would get mad at yourself. Why would you have these powers if you couldn't doing anything good with them? All this power at your fingertips and all you could manage to do was either warm up microwave burritos or knock a building down and set it on fire, there seemed to be no in between. Nothing that wasn't stupid or would hurt people.

You had managed to convince her dad to go back to FEAST to get some rest. He had been at the hospital all day every day since they found her mom on the airport runway along with a bunch of other people, injured or dead. She was worried about her dad. He was a hollowed version of himself, like every ounce of color in his life left when he found out his wife was in a comma and there was no telling whether she would wake up or not. He did perk up a little if Y/N was around, but she saw him when he thought he was alone.

The man she used to know was one of the strongest people she knew, both her parents were. He and Davis were some of the best cops on the force, so to see him on temporary leave while he recovered was more than heartbreaking. All he ever wanted to do was help people, that's why he became a cop. Now all he did was stay at the hospital and only sometimes came back to FEAST.

Y/N missed him, both her parents. She wanted everything to go back to normal. She wanted to come home from school and find her dad in the kitchen making dinner. She would do her homework and work on her robots. Then her mom would come home from work and all of them would have a nice dinner, talking about their day, making jokes, and laughing. Davis would come over with his wife and son, who was still five, not ten, and his wife would bring dessert. Y/N and Miles would play Mortal Kombat and she would let him win, while the adults talked . Nothing to worry about, having a home, having a lively family, being content with your life. But nothing stays the same, does it?

"You okay?"

Broken from her thoughts, she look up to see Davis by the curtain divider. She had it closed for some privacy, but Davis opened it when he came in.

"Not really. But who is these days?", she joked trying to make light of the situation.

Davis only sighed. He knew first hand how chaotic the world has been since everyone returned. He saw it everyday on the streets.

He took a seat next to her on the bench under the window. "You know, you can still come live with us. It's no problem, we'd be happy to have you."

"I know. But I need to be with my dad and I know you don't have enough room for the both of us."

"Thought you would say that."

Davis didn't say anything more. He was there to take her back to FEAST, she looked like she needed a moment. So, he just sat with honorary daughter as she watched her mother sleep with little hope of her ever waking up.

\---

Y/N had won the past few battles, each of your opponents disappointed to see their robots destroyed. Lucky had a few new scratches, but she was holding strong. Everyone was scared to go up against her.

At the end of the night, she was walking back to FEAST when something called out to her.

"Hey, Y/N!" She looked around, but didn't see anyone. It wasn't until she heard a thumb behind her and turned around to see Spider-Man. "It's not safe to walk home alone, you know."

"You should know best I can handle myself."

"I know you can destroy anyone with just fist bump, but still. I could walk you home? If you want?"

"I guess you could, Pe-uh. Sorry, Spider-Man."

Peter caught up to her so they were walking side-by-side. "How was your night?"

"Good."

"Just good?"

"Yeah."

"What? Don't feel like talking?"

She responded by only shrugging. "It was good. Not much else to tell."

Peter peeked at her backpack and saw a piece of metal poking out. "What's in your backpack?"

"Do you have a search warrant, Spider-Man?"

Peter raised his hands. "Hey, I was just curious."

She supposed she could show him. What harm could it cause?

Y/N pulled Lucky out of her backpack and placed her in the ground. The eyes of Peter's mask widened. A blue and white robot that looked more like a doll than a robot sat on the ground. She pulled out the remote to turn her on. With a simple click, the eyes light up a soft blue color and the robot stood.

"Hi! I'm LC257. But you can call me Lucky."

"Woah!" Peter crouched down to get a closer look at the robot. The robot followed his movements to keep looking at Peter as he moved around the robot. "You built this?", he said in astonishment.

"Yep. Took me awhile, and cost all of my allowance but her she is."

"If you give me your name, I'll enter it in my records so I can remember you," the robot spoke. It sounded a little bit like Y/N's voice but more sweet and robot.

"I'm Spider-Man."

"Spider-Man", Lucky repeated. "A pleasure to meet you Spider-Man". The little robot gave Peter a bow which made Peter excited.

Y/N giggled as she watched her robot interact with Peter.

"This is incredible." Peter poked it and the robot took a few steps back to regained balance. "Can I pick it up?"

"Why don't you ask her?"

"Okay, uhm," Peter turned to the robot, "May I pick you up, Lucky?"

"Of course. Y/N does so for maintenance and carrying me around. If you are a friend of Y/N, then you may pick me up."

The robot raised its arms like a toddler which made Peter chuckled as he grabbed the bot by the torso. It was surprisingly light. He turned it over and looked at it closer. "This is an incredible build. You'll have to show me."

Y/N chuckled. "Maybe one day."

"You have a remote for it. What else can it do?"

"Put her down and I'll show you." Peter placed the bot back on the ground. "She has a manual mode that lets me take control of her," she explained.

Y/N pushed a button on the remote and the eye light color switched from the light blue to a light yellow. She moved some buttons around and the bot moved around according to what she pressed. It jumped, it kicked, it rolled, all making Peter freak out in excitement. She thought she might as well give him a little show, so she kicked it up a notch. The robot release a blade in one arm and a flame thrower in the other, then spun around pretending to fight another bot.

"This is amazing!", Peter exclaimed.

The smile on Y/N's face didn't leave, happy that Peter found her weird interest cool. At the end, Lucky retracted the blade and fire, and did a little bow before sitting on the ground. Peter started clapping which made her laugh.

"Wow, that was...awesome."

"Thanks."

"What do you do with it? Just carry it around in your backpack?"

"No. I sometimes enter tournaments. She's won me a lot of mon- uh, metals." She didn't want to tell Peter about the money she won since it wasn't the most legal thing in the world. But she knew how good she was at lying so, hopefully he didn't notice.

"I thought flamethrowers were illegal in bot fights."

"Well, I don't use it. I just thought it would be cool", she lied.

"So is that where you were coming from? A bot fight?" Peter's voice was getting a bit more suspicious.

"Mhmm, yeah." She nodded along trying to act nonchalant.

"That's weird because I'm pretty sure there was a fight not far from here that was illegal because people were gambling."

Fuck.

"Please don't tell anyone," she begged.

"I thought you were done with that, Y/N? May gave you the money you need for your mom. What else could you need it for?"

"I wasn't doing it for the money, Pet- uh." It was hard to tell what Peter's face looked like, but she knew he was disappoint. "Look, you saw Lucky. I build her and she can beat any other robot. The only competition we face is in the illegal battles. I didn't take the money."

"But you have before?"

You ran a hand over your face, frustrated with how this conversation ended up. "I'm homeless!" You bent down and started to pack away Lucky. "My family struggles so much, now and before everything happened, so of course I've taken the money before. Why are you making such a big deal about this?"

"Because, Y/N, it's wrong. You shouldn't be doing this."

"Oh like you haven't anything you weren't suppose to."

"I-", Peter hesitated because of course he has, but he always thought that was to help people, so he sighed. "Look. You should probably stop before you get in serious trouble."

"Why do you care so much about what I do anyway?"

Peter didn't say anything. He looked around at the street to see if it was empty, but there were a few people at the end of the road and he couldn't risk it. He pulled Y/N close and wrapped a arm around her waist and shot his other arm in the air and before she could say anything, the two were swinging in the air. When her feet left the ground, she clung to Peter for dear life.

"Oh god! Holy Fuck!" she screamed.

"Don't worry I got you," Peter reassured.

Wind whipped around her face blowing her hair in all directions. She didn't have her eyes open too scared to look how high she was. If she did, she would have seen the city flying by, the lights beautiful at night. That was one of Peter's favorite parts of his job as Spider-Man, to watch the city he loved lit up and whip past him as he swung. He wanted her to see it, but he did kinda do this all of sudden. Her grip around him tightened, and he had to focus on swinging and not how close she was.

He landed the two of them on the roof of FEAST. Y/N didn't let go of him, her legs and arms still wrapped around him and her head buried in his neck.

"You okay?" All she did was shake her head, still not letting go. Peter rubbed her back. "It's okay, we're on the ground now. You can let go."

Y/N slowly lifted her head to see if it was true. When she saw the roof below her, she placed one shaking leg on the ground, then the other. She took a few steps away from Peter hugging herself, then pushed Peter's chest, but not hard.

Her face was annoyed now more than scared or angry. "Why'd you do that?"

"I'm sorry, I should have asked, but you're my friend."

"What?"

"You asked why I cared so much about you is because your my friend, so I don't want to see you get into trouble. You deserve so much more out of life."

Y/N didn't really know what to say. There were few people in her life that cared about her, and she had known Peter forever, but only really got to know him a couple weeks ago.

"I'm sorry too," she said.

"What for?"

She took a breathe before answering. "I don't have a lot of friends, so... I'm not super great at it ", she played the zipper on her jacket, "I didn't mean to make you worry. I just did what I did because I didn't know what else to do."

"I understand", Peter said. He finally took off his mask so he could look at her with his own eyes. "I haven't done the best things either. But we can figure out how to better. Together."

Peter held out his hand for her with a smile on his face. She smiled to herself at the gesture.

"Ned, won't be jealous that he's being replaced?" she joked.

Peter's smile grew bigger as he laughed. "Maybe a little, but he can get over it."

She took Peter's hand and he rubbed his thumb against hers. The two of them both stood there for a moment, smiling at the other, happy that neither of them were in this alone. Of course Peter had May and Ned and Happy, and you had your dad and Davis. But there was something about having another person who is trying to move on from the effects of the snap and was just a kid with superhuman abilities that made them both grateful to have the other.

"Maybe we should go inside. My suit only keeps me warm for so long."

Y/N nodded and headed toward the door on the roof. Peter ran off to the other side of the roof to change real quick before he caught up to her at the door.

"How are you not cold out here?" he asked. It was something he always wondered about her, but she just shrugged in return.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter, Ned, and the Reader have a nice movie night, while Spider-Man is busy trying to fight bad guys who work for Wilson Fisk.

It’s moving day. Y/N didn’t know why she was so nervous. Actually, she did know. Anything could happen to her mother during the move. The hospital was further than the current one which wasn’t ideal, but as long as her mother is still alive it didn’t matter. The doctors would ready her and transport her in an ambulance with her and her dad. She was lucky to come along, there wasn’t much room in the back with the bed, the machines, the EMTs and her dad. Her dad held her mom’s hand and she held his the entire time.

When they got to the new hospital, it was like a whole new anxiety. Would she do better here? Worse? No change at all? Would the doctors care for her properly or would they be like Nurse Rachet? Will her mom even wake up?

A million questions ran through Y/N head. The only thing keeping her from completely freaking out was her dad’s hand in hers, and she was sure he was feeling the same way. Maybe with his wife at the new hospital he might be able to focus more, maybe even get his job back. He wouldn’t be able to stay at the hospital as often because he still had a daughter to take of.

Y/N told herself that this was a good thing. Her mom would be in good hands, her dad would be around more. Everything would be okay.

Having Peter around helped. Before she didn’t really have anyone her age to talk to about this stuff. Normally she would go to Davis, and he was a good comfort, which she was always grateful for, but it felt different with Peter. Something about being a super-powered teenager trying to live life after tragedy gave each other a sense of belonging. Like she was meant have Peter in her life.

He knew it was moving day, and that she would be exhausted physically and emotionally, so he invited her over for movie night with him and Ned to help keep her mind off it. And he promised there would be food, and who was she to deny free food.

When she arrived at his apartment, Y/N found it hard to knock on Peter’s door for some reason. It’s not like she hadn’t been there before, so why was it so hard for her. Sure last time she was here was to study and he met her in the lobby so no knocking was necessary, but her fist still froze before coming in contact with the door.

She put down her fist and raised it and put in down again a few times. Was this a mistake? Yes, her and Peter were friends now, but what if he was just being nice. He’s a friendly guy, he was friends with a lot of people, okay maybe not a lot, but definitely more than her, so what made her so special? She paced back and forth between the elevator and his front door a couples times debating with herself whether she should leave. The anxiety Y/N had felt all day was building up and she felt like she was going to burst.

"Mom is okay, dad is okay, you’re okay. Peter invited you because he cares and you’re here so just knock on the damn door!" she thought.

Before she could make up her mind, it seemed to be made up for her when the elevator dinged.

“Hi, sweetheart. Did you just get here?” May asked when she got off the elevator.

“Yes,” she lied. May didn’t need to know she stood outside her apartment for seven minutes. “Peter invited me over.”

“Yes, he said he was having movie night. Let me get to door for you,” she said. She pulled out her keys from her purse and opened to door for the two of them. Having May there to make her decision for her seemed to calm Y/N down. “Peter! I’m home! Y/N’s here too!” May called out to her nephew.

“I’m in my room!” he called back.

May turned her attention back to Y/N. “Could you tell Peter I’m not staying long, just came home for my phone,” she asked grabbing her phone off the kitchen counter. “If you guys need anything, you know where to find me.” May hugged her goodbye and left for work.

Y/N smiled and headed to Peter’s room. She could see Ned sitting on the bed through the crack in the door which she slowly opened with her foot.

“Hey, guys.”

“Hey, Y/N!” both boys greeted.

Peter was on the floor with his knees tucked under him going through a pile of movies while Ned sat on the bed playing a game on his phone.

“Wanna help me pick out a movie since Ned is too focused on his phone?” Peter asked.

“Hey, I’m winning at Mario Kart right now and I don’t wanna break the streak,” Ned complained.

“Sure you are,” Peter replied then gestured for Y/N to join him on the floor.

What was she worried about? This is going to be fun.

“I was planning on us watching three movies so we all get to pick one,” Peter said.

“Sounds good.”

She went through the movies Peter had, a fair amount of them were from the 80s. The movie she went with was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Ned had picked Alien and Peter chose the Princess Bride.

“Really?” she asked after seeing Peter’s choice.

“What?” Peter defended.

“I didn’t think you would like Princess Bride.”

“It is arguably the best movie ever. It’s got comedy, it’s got romance, action, drama, and a happy ending,” he argued.

“I haven’t met a single person who hasn’t like the Princess Bride,” Ned chimed in.

“Okay, I actually haven’t seen it,” she admitted. “I thought it was some sappy romance movie only girls watch.”

Both boys stared at her slack-jawed like she was insane.

“That’s it. We’re watching it first,” Ned declared, “so you know what the greatest movie looks like.”

Peter grabbed a bag that was on his desk and all of them went to the living room to have their movie night. Peter placed the bag on the coffee table and pulled out three popcorn bags and a bunch of candy that looked like every candy bar Y/N knew to exist.

Peter sheepishly looked at her. “I didn’t know what candy you liked, so I just got all of them.”

She chuckled. “Thanks. And for the record,” she picked one of the candy bars, “I’m a kit kat girl.”

Peter left to cook the popcorn while Ned set up the movies to play. Y/N sat on the couch with her legs pulled up, eating her kit kat and noticed Ned take the recliner. That only left one spot open for Peter, and that was next to her. The idea of sitting next to Peter made her a little nervous, so she made sure that she kept to her own couch cushion. Peter came back with a large bowl of popcorn and put it on the table so everyone could reach it.

The Princess Bride played, and Y/N tried not to focus on the fact that Peter was so close to her. He sat cross legged so any adjustment made by either of them, his knee would brush against her leg. She focused on the movie and laughed at the jokes. Romcoms weren’t her favorite, Y/N was surprised to find herself enjoying it.

When the credits rolled, both Peter and Ned turned to her expectantly.

“So?” Peter asked.

“It was good,” she answered.

“Just good?” Ned demanded.

She rolled her eyes and gave in. “Okay, I loved it and it’s more than the romance movie I thought it was.”

“See,” they both said in unison.

“You’ve proven your point.”

Ned had passed out half way through Alien, which left Y/N and Peter to watch Prisoner of Azkaban alone. At some point Peter had moved closer to her, and now his thigh was against her shin. She had laid down and rested her head against the arm rest of the couch her legs curled up trying to stay on her cushion. Peter wanted to just curl up behind her because he was drawn to her. She radiated warmth and he wanted to absorb as much as could.

“I’m glad you made it,” Peter admitted. “Ned tends to fall asleep, and then it’s just me watching movies by myself.”

“Thanks for inviting me,” she replied. “I needed some time to just chill out and do something fun.”

“How’s your mom?” Peter asked. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“She’s fine,” Y/N sat up from her position and crossed her legs. “The move went well. We met with the doctor and some nurses who are going to take care of her and they all seemed nice and competent.” She looked at her hands in her lap not looking up at Peter. “I hope she wakes up soon,” she whispered.

Peter had a sad smile after hearing that comment. He took her hand in his and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. “If you ever need someone to talk to, I’ll always be there for you.”

“Thanks, Peter. You’ve been nothing but kind to me even when I don’t deserve it.”

“Sometimes the most troubled people need the most kindness,” Peter said. “Not that your troubled or anything, just that you haven’t had the best of luck lately and the whole… you know, and you’re my friend so of course I would-”

Y/N decide to be bold and Peter stopped rambling when her lips met his cheek. Peter’s cheeks turned red, which made her smile. “You ramble a lot, you know that?”

Peter just let out a nervous laugh. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.”

The rest of the movie she spent with her head on his shoulder and until they got to the part where Harry and Hermione go back in time and Y/N looked over at a snoring Ned.

“Wanna draw on his face?” she asked.

Peter snorted. “No, let him sleep,” Peter said. But two seconds later he said, “I’ll grab a marker.”

\----

Peter was perched on the ledge of a flag pole, looking at an office building a ways up the street. The eyes on his mask helped him get a closer look to the situation. He had following a tip he got that might lead to Peter finding the man he had been trying to stop for the last couple months.

He was looking at the infrared outline of what looked like three men and something else. It almost looked like a man but there were other things that were coming out of it, like arms. The men were gathered around several tubs of what Peter thought might be weapons. There was a van parked in the alley. When they went outside to load the van, Peter would get a better view of what was in those cases, and then he could decide whether he should interfere.

“Karen, what are they saying?”

“I’ll in increase the volume so you can listen.”

Now Peter could understand what the people were saying without it being muffled.

“-you can do this? My employer needs you.”

“Nah man, we got it taken care of. S’not like we’re amateurs.”

“Good. Load up the van.”

“What you ain’t gonna help?”

“I think you can handle it. I’ve got somewhere to be.”

The man, probably, with the long arm like things left a different way from where the van was parked. Peter followed the other three men, keeping to the shadows so as not to be seen. Three infrared blobs turned into two men who were struggling to carrying a large box.

“Need some help?” Peter said as he swung down to them. “I’m told I’m pretty strong.”

If some legal was happening he would have helped them load the box into the van, but the men pulled their guns on him. Peter made quick work to disarm the two on the right, the one of the left fired a round, but missed. He had the one on the far right stuck to the ground with a kick and a thwip, and elbowed the one in the middle to knock him off his feet. The one on the far left kept firing at him walking backwards to get to the driver’s seat of the van. Peter shot a web pulling the gun away with one hand and shooting web with the other to stick the man’s hand to the door handle. When the man tried to get his hand free, Peter stuck the man’s free hand over top the hand stuck to the door handle. The last one had jumped on Peter’s back trying to put him in a choke hold, but Peter grabbed him and threw him over his shoulder, and sticking him to the ground in one swift movement. They were all detained, so Peter contacted the police to come pick them up. A quick job. Simple.

“I’m glad I didn’t have to fight you guys too much,” Peter quipped. “I was looking forward to a night in.”

Peter figured he should check to make sure they were in fact about to transport something they shouldn’t before the police arrived. He opened the lip and inside was a bunch of Stark Industries tech.

“What the-?” Peter wondered out loud.

There were several prototypes of the iron gloves that form over your hand. A couple blasters, some other things he didn’t recognize, but he knew all of it was designed by Mr. Stark. He was expecting guns or drugs, not this. If these men worked for who he thought then what were they doing with all this stolen tech.

Peter dropped the gadget he picked up as something wrapped around his neck and pulled him to the ground. Caught off guard, Peter clawed at the thing around his neck trying to break free. Whatever it was that had hold of him, he couldn’t see it. It slammed him into the wall, then back on the ground several more times leaving Peter disoriented. He was thrown across the alley and rolled into the street when a blurry figure approached him. Something darted at Peter, but he was too slow to stop it, and it cut across his abdomen. Peter cried out and the thing took hold of his neck again raising him above the ground away from whoever had hold of him.

“Don’t interfere my plans again, Spider-Man. Or my employer won’t be happy.”

He was thrown to the ground again, hard. Peter coughed and held the place where he was cut, but when he looked back to see who the person who was holding him, they were gone. He slumped back to the ground to catch his breathe for a few seconds, then he heard sirens approaching and he had to get leave.

\----

Peter pushed the spider emblem on his suit, and it loosened around him. Times like this made him thankful for that feature. He struggled to put his shirt on, only half of the buttons were done up, enough to cover him. Putting on his pants proved difficult, but he managed. He wanted to hold his side in an attempt to ease the pain, but he couldn’t let the people inside know how injured he is.

On his way over to F.E.A.D. he thought about what that person had said. Peter never saw their face, but he could assume it was a man based on the low, rough voice. He spoke about his “employer” not being happy if Peter interfered. If the trail he was following was right, that employer could be Wilson Fisk or someone who lead to Fisk. This was different than what Peter thought. He thought Fisk was trying get more people in his pocket, by selling weapons and getting the working class hooked on drugs or into impossible to pay financial situations. So what was he doing with Stark Industries tech. Not everything in the tubs was a weapon and they don’t sell those weapons to the common person anyway. There had to be a bigger plan that Peter was missing.

Warmth blew in his face, when he opened the door. No one saw him on the stairs or the hall. He just needed to get to a bed and pass out before any one finds him. It wasn’t until he hit the main floor that there were people walking around. People kept looking at him, which made him think he wasn’t hiding his injuries very well. He bumped into a few people when he came to a particularly crowded area, and he mutter a sorry to anyone he hit.

The kitchen was much less crowded. The med wing wasn’t far from there and he could grab some gauze and an ice pack before he passed out on one of the beds, but he ran into something than made him bend over and wince from the pain.

“Hey, you okay, man?” the person asked.

“Yeah, yeah, fine,” Peter muttered trying not to cry out in pain.

“You don’t look okay, maybe you should go to the med wing and get looked at.”

Peter straightened up and looked at the person he was taking to who was actually a child. He wasn’t sure who this kid was, but he looked vaguely familiar. “I’m okay. Just need an ice pack.”

“You need much more than an ice pack. Here, I’ll help you get there.”

The kid pulled Peter’s arm around his shoulder, didn’t quite work because the boy was shorter than Peter, and lead him to the medical wing. It was a smaller room with only a few beds that filled up the room. A couple people were there, probably with the flu, but no major injuries. There was one nurse and the one person he didn’t want to see him like this. Maybe if he sat with his back to her?

“Peter?”

Nope.

“Peter, honey, what are doing here? I didn’t think you were coming to help today,” May said walking toward him. It wasn’t until she got closer that she saw the state that he was in. “Oh my gosh, Peter what happened?”

Peter leaned back against the pillow to get comfortable, he knew with May here he wasn’t leaving. He glanced at the boy without saying anything, hoping May would get the hint.

“Thank you, Miles for helping him, but I can handle it from here. You should be heading home, anyway, it’s late.”

“You sure?”

“Of course, hun. I got this.” Miles gave Peter a smile and a pat on the shoulder before leaving the medical wing. May waited until he was out of earshot and the nurse had left before she spoke with her nephew. “Want to tell me what happened?”

“I got hurt,” Peter stated staring at the ceiling.

“No kidding.” May sighed. She knew he was out being Spider-Man.

“I got ganged up on. I think they were working for Fisk.”

“I thought you were done with that man.”

“May, the police-”

“I know the police aren’t doing enough, and if you can do something then you’ll do it, but Peter you have a tendency to put yourself in situations that you can’t handle by yourself.” May unbuttoned his shirt and saw the wound on his ribs. A few stitches and pain killers should do the trick. “You need to take better care of yourself. I worry about you all the time.”

Peter breathed heavily through his nose trying not wince as May fixed him up.

“I don’t want you to worry, May.”

“Then don’t give me a reason to.” May buttoned up his shirt again when she was done patching him up. She hated seeing her nephew hurt. Of course she knew he could handle a lot more than most people could, but he was still a boy. “You need rest. But you should move to the main floor, the people in here are have the flu. I don’t want you getting sick.”

She helped Peter sit up and he swung his feet off the bed. He held his hands in his lap, with his head low. “I really don’t mean to worry you. I’m just trying to help the city.”

“And I love you for that,” May cupped his cheek and made him look at her. “I don’t want you to quit being Spider-Man. Just be more careful is all I’m asking.”

Peter nodded. “Okay. I’ll try.”

May brushed the hair out of eyes and kissed his forehead. “You need a haircut, kid.” Peter smiled and hugged his aunt. “C’mon, you need sleep.”

The two went to the main area where all the beds were. People were starting to go to sleep, the lights having been dimmed, but not completely turned off yet.

“Go find a bed, and I’ll see you in the morning.” May kissed his head one last time and walked away calling back, “if you need anything I’ll be in my office.”

Peter looked around at the people in the room. Everyone looked so tired, and not just in a “needs sleep” type of way, but in a “life is hard” type of way. The dark circles under their eyes, the hunched shoulders, slow movements, and the general gloom in the air. It was hard to escape that these days especially in the city. More than once he thought about leaving, even if just for a while. Pepper told him that if he ever wanted, he could use their cabin, but it’s still too soon to go back there after the funeral.

May was right. He needed rest. There were a few beds open, but there was one in particular that called to him. He went to the middle of the room where Y/N was laying on her bed, with her leg dangling off the edge, reading a book. Peter gently kicked the toe of her foot to get your attention. When she looked up to him, he muttered a ‘hey’.

“Hey.” She bookmarked her page and sat up to talk to Peter. “What are you doing here?”

“Thought I would crash here instead of trying to swing home tired.”

“Couldn’t take the subway? Or Uber?”

“Na, I didn’t feel like it.”

“Well, my dad decided to stay with my mom since it’s her first night there, so the top bunk is free if you want it.”

“Thanks. You mind if I sit with you for a second before going to bed?”

“Sure.” She pulled up her legs to her chest to make room for him on the bed. He sat with one leg on the bed, the other hanging off.

“Listen,” he whispered. “I think you should learn to control your power.”

“Peter! Keep your voice down,” She whisper shouted and looked around to see if anyone hear, but the people closest to them were asleep. “What are going on about?” she whispered.

Peter leaned closer, so she could hear him. “You should learn to use it. It’s an awesome power, and it could come in handy one day.”

“Like the day I almost killed you?”

“That’s not what I meant. Something might happen to you where you could be kidnapped or mugged and you’ll need to save yourself.”

“Isn’t that why I have Spider-Man as my best friend?”

Best friend? Peter felt the blush rising in his cheeks but pushed it away when he knew what he was going to say next. “Spider-Man can’t always be there to save you, Y/N. I’m not perfect.” Peter decided to be bold to grabbed her hand and interlaced their fingers. “I can help you. We can go somewhere far from people and we can practice. Who knows maybe you could become a badass superhero.”

“I...I don’t know, Peter.” She really didn’t. She was sure that her parents would not be happy with her putting herself in danger, not that they were be happy with her robbing a bank, which they did still didn’t know about. On one hand, she could master her power, but on the other she could hurt someone. “I don’t want to hurt anybody.”

“You won’t, I promise.”

Y/N sighed and dropped her head. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Peter.”

“Alright, I won’t promise that no one will get hurt, but I’ll help you to make sure that doesn’t happen. Please?”

She bite her lip not believing what she was about to say. “Okay. But if it’s anything like gym class, I’m out.”

Peter smiled the biggest smile. “Deal”. He pulled her into a hug, keeping her on his left side not touching his wound.

Y/N hugged Peter, enjoying the comfort that always came with his hugs. She was about to let go, but Peter only held her tighter. “Everything okay, Pete?” she mumbled into his shoulder.

Peter nodded against her. “You’re always so warm.” She wrapped her arms around him tighter and balled up his shirt in her hands. “I’m glad you’re in my life.”

“Me too,” she replied.

When Peter let go, he climbed up the small ladder to the top bunk. The lights had completely went out except for a few low lights in the hall. The blankets were warm enough, but he kinda wished he had something else keeping him warm. Or someone.

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

“Goodnight, Peter.”


End file.
